Larry D. James, a retired US Air Force lieutenant general, is one of 11 people who will form the Australian Space Diversity Alliance’s (ASDA) inaugural national committee.
ASDA said it hopes the panel, listed in full at the bottom of this article, will promote greater representation and participation of under-represented groups in the space sector, through programs that educate, inform, and inspire.
ASDA only launched in March and is backed by Space Connect, alongside state governments, the iLAuNCH Trailblazer initiative, and communications agency The Write Space.
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“Statistics on diverse groups across a range of backgrounds are not necessarily measured in the space industry,” said ASDA when it launched.
“If we take women as a minority representative group as an example, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) identifies that women represent, on average, only 20 per cent of the international space industry.
“This figure has remained stagnant over the last 30 years. In Australia, women make up only 28 per cent of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and math.
“The participation of women in the space sector in Australia is likely closer to 20 per cent, with other minority groups even lower, at less than 5 per cent.
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“There is obvious room for improvement across all diversity groups.”
ASDA will partner with Aviation Aerospace Australia for the first two years and has launched a website here.
It comes after Space Connect reported earlier this year how a landmark government report has said that there is “significant gender disparity and job insecurity” in STEM professions, with women far more likely to be in part-time or contract positions.
The STEM Career Pathways report, which you can read here, found only 58 per cent of women surveyed were on permanent full-time contracts, compared to 78 per cent of men.
The investigation was prepared by Science & Technology Australia and was significantly one of two released on the same day.
A second, Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review, also called for significant changes by organisations to increase participation from under-represented groups.
ASDA national committee members
Anntonette Dailey – manager government relations, Virgin Australia; board member, Defence Council of Victoria and Aviation Aerospace Australia; deputy chair, National Committee for Space Engineering; co-founder, ASDA.
Deb Travers-Wolf – founder, I LEAD Consulting; convenor, Diversity and Inclusion Committee NSW, Australian HR Institute (AHRI); academic, UNSW.
Dwayne Fernandes – co-founder and director, Minds at Play & IDEA Services; AstroAccess ambassador and manager HR projects, NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
Eleanor Ingram – manager, diversity and inclusion, CSIRO Space and Astronomy; director, For Inclusion Consulting; chair, Disability Advisory Group RTRFM Radio.
Jacqui Tyack – marketing consultant, The Write Space; mentor, Aviation/Aerospace; co-founder, ASDA.
Katie Mouser – senior policy officer, Australian Space Agency.
Keira Chrystal – associate, Moonshot Space Co; co-president, Space Research Student Committee; team manager, Macquarie Orbital, Macquarie University.
Larry D. James, LTGEN, USAF (Ret’d) – strategic adviser, SmartSat CRC; Professor of Practice in Space Innovation, Monash University.
Mei He – media & marketing coordinator, Saber Astronautics; co-founder, ASDA.
Mitch Porteous – business manager, HorizonOne; co-founder, Microforest Collective and Queanbeyan Microforest; board member, EveryMan Australia; mentor, Menslink.
Dr Sheila Gough Kenyon - co-founder and chief operating officer, Starbound Space Solutions.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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